Silent Hill: Decension
by Synful Infection
Summary: Adrian seeks to end all his suffering, but wishes to talk to his sister once more before then. After he crashes, he finds himself in Silent Hill. Death is so simple to find, but it came at the wrong time. M for Gore, Language, and minor Adult Themes.
1. Prologue: Wanting to Forget

**Prologue: Wishing to Forget**

_How cruel can life truly be? _It was a simple question that any person would ask themselves if they were always being asked of things. Forever being a servant, suffering in the delusion that you have what people would call control. Adrian was always learning that. Every day he lived he would remember just how pathetic and cruel life could be. Sometimes, he even wished to simply die.

He would be sure to leave that bloody message behind. The one he wrote, but before that, he wanted to do something. One last thing to do before he simply stopped his wretched existence. It didn't matter anyways. He shifted, placing his foot on the clutch, driving down the long, winding road along the country side. He shifted gears, picking up speed.

Out here, the speed limit only exists in your mind. What cop would patrol these bloody roads anyways? Not like anyone really drove down these roads anymore. Of course, he had to see his sister one more time, say goodbye. She needed to know he was going away for good. Sure, she would probably miss him, but he knew that she would understand.

He watched his speedometer reach ninety, then slowly crawl to ninety-five. It felt like such a slow speed as he turned along the road. Snaking roads were always more fun when you were speeding. His heart was steady, calm, adrenaline never seemed to come any more. Then again, when you have nothing to live for, you tend to feel this way, or perhaps it was just him. His eyes took a fleeting glance at his passenger seat, then sighed, turning away sharply, holding back the storm that would brew if he continued to dwell on it.

He shook his head as he turned the road. Man, the day wasn't even half over, and he was already growing tired. Perhaps that would be best, falling asleep behind the wheel and crashing? But of course, he had to get to his sister first. He seemed to be dwelling far to much on that thought, it seemed to recur like he had a sister complex. Then again, at this rate, perhaps he did have a sister complex.

Suddenly he was on a straight away, and he nodded, feeling a little better about relaxing his body. Perhaps this straight shot would take him right to his destination? He shrugged his shoulders, let his neck roll a little, then shot his eyes up as he caught something in his sight.

A young girl just standing in the middle of the road. He had a split second to react, but his eyes caught the distinct black hair, long blue dress like that of a school girl from a back road town, and she was pale, oh so pale. He jerked the wheel to the left sharply as he slammed on the breaks, then pulled the wheel right. Sadly, he reacted to late.

The driver's door slammed hard into one of the trees on the side of the door, and Adrian felt a flash of pain through the side of his head as he fell sharply to his right. The seatbelt caught him, dragged him up into a limp sitting position. A hot fluid was running down the side of his head, and his rear view mirror seemed to be set just right for him to look into his own eyes. He pondered for a second when it had gotten so low.

As the pain delved him into darkness, he got one last glimpse of a young man, twenty-four years of age, his light brown hair cut short, blood trickling down the left side of his head. His eyes were bloodshot and a pale gray. His eyes flickered to up, the sun just starting to set in the sky.

_Perhaps I won't make it after all..._ And then he was in darkness.


	2. Chapter 1: Awake

**Chapter 1: Awake**

The world was suddenly a haze of color and lights as Adrian found himself opening his eyes. The environment was cold and soft, but he was unsure of what it was that had changed. He felt it deep inside, but he was absolutely certain that he hadn't gotten up and left the car. He felt no wind, no metal, and he was laying down, not hanging from the seatbelt. More importantly, he wasn't dead. What the hell was going on here? He was far more then a little confused, and what brought it to even more, his head didn't ache more then a little. He was certain he should have been up with a headache at this point. Instead, his head was aching gently. Nothing that would affect himself.

His hands groped around, his eyes still unfocused, feeling the material he was laying on. It felt like, those damn seats at restaurants. Those seats that had a plastic cover at the cheap restaurants that served the shitty food. He growled a little, realizing then just how uncomfortable he was. His hands pushed gently against the surface, gingerly testing to see if his headache would intensify. As he came to a sitting position, he started to open his eyes gently.

As his vision came to, his eyes took in his environment. A restaurant it definitely was. He was against one of the walls, what seemed like hundreds of other booths, seats, and tables were scattered around, along with small dividers. Of course, his mind logically concluded he was exaggerating. His eyes scanned carefully, noting how everything seemed absolutely out of the ordinary. Tables were neat and tidy, not a bit of dust. The chairs were pushed in, every table was set with sugar, sweetener, salt and pepper. The counter, of a hard wood surface, was clean and tidy. Yet something important was missing. There was absolutely nobody around at all.

His eyes fell on the only thing that cluttered any of the tables, and it was the table he had been laying beside. A small slip of paper lay on the table, something short and simple scrawled on it, and Adrian read it aloud to himself: "Your welcome!"

Adrian read it a couple more times to himself. _Two simple words, and that was it? The person who pulled him from his car carried him to this place, and left him here? What kind of help was that? And besides, did he ask for help?_ He found himself crumpling the paper up into a ball. He sat back, leaning against the back of the seat.

Another sudden oddity came to mind as he looked up at the windows. Beyond the window was what would be the outside, however, a thick fog must have rolled over the town recently, as he couldn't see out the window from his distance. His head actually began to ache from the absurdity of the situation. He found himself chuckling a little to himself. What a pathetic situation to have himself in.

He pondered for a long moment, wondering over what he should do, then nodded. He had to find a way to get to his sister. That meant he was in need of a car, he had the money for gas, but he was more then willing to steal a car. There was no doubt he was close to his destination.

He pushed up from a sitting position, moving around the table in front of him and taking a couple glances around. "Hello?"

There was no answer, and he was pretty certain he wasn't going to get one in this building. It seemed like they were closed, though it was probably not that late into the afternoon. He moved towards the counter at the front of the restaurant, seeking to at least find a clue as to a phone, or perhaps a note explaining why this place was closed, though he figured it was probably closed because of lack of customers. That would still leave the amazingly clean tables and counters as a confusing mark on that thought.

He scratched that theory as quickly as it popped up. There was no doubt that the restaurant was open for business. It made the fact that it was empty all the more confusing. He turned to the door, striding for the exit. As his hand touched the handle, he heard a gentle fluttering noise, and spun in time to watch a folded piece of paper fall to the floor at his feet.

"I'm, dead, and this is my punishment." Adrian muttered under his breath, stooping down to pick up the piece of paper, deciding to humor the forces that be. After all, if nothing else, this was a dream, and he would wake up at one point. He started opening the paper, wondering if it was a note, or a waste of time.

The note read:

'I wish I could have met you in person, but I've heard wonderful things. I have a feeling we will meet at one time, but until then, I wish to grant to a single warning. This town is not as calm as it seems. I suggest getting a weapon of some sort. Of course, I'm just making a suggestion, and you don't have to listen. Now, I won't ramble, so please follow this single instruction. Please don't die until I've at least met you.

~Amanda

Adrian's confusion was plastered on his face as he read the letter a second time. Apparently, this Amanda was hoping to meet him, to see him at least once. But the most confusing matter was that of not dieing. Why would he die in this town? Was she talking about his head wound which he apparently didn't have? Or perhaps she was utterly insane, and she set traps for him in town? He shuddered, a little fearful now. He wanted his death to be under his control, not at the hands of some psychopath.

If that last possibility was the case, he would take her advice, no matter how odd it would seem. He ventured away from the door and towards the back of the building, looking for a door leading to the kitchen. He found it after a couple seconds, and cautiously walked to the door, opening it. The kitchen was well lit, and large. Pots and Pans hanging off of the racks on the ceiling. A number of wooden knife blocks were scattered around the room, but he couldn't see a single damn knife in the entire room. Of course, he hadn't really started searching, but he couldn't see one from his vantage point.

He found himself getting to the search, moving past the ovens and the heating surfaces, whatever the hell they were called. And it wasn't too long before he found a fresh chunk of meat, something he wasn't quite sure of, with a solid knife in it's flank. He grasped the handle, pulling the blade free with a sickening noise that caused Adrian to quiver. But now he held a bladed weapon. No doubt it wasn't even going to be necessary. What a laugh, why was he even taking that note seriously?

Adrian found himself looking at the freezer for a second, wondering just how effective a meat hook might be if a crazed bitch tried to kill him. The knife was a better weapon in his opinion, though this cutting tool wasn't quite the same as a balanced combat knife. He sliced it through the air a little, laughing as he made his way back to the kitchen door. The main room would no doubt be as empty as it was the first time he was in there. Unless of course, Amanda got impatient and came for him.

As he touched the door leading out of the kitchen, he heard a surprisingly loud thud coming from behind him, like a heavy object slammed against a thick door. Turning, he watched as the freezer door vibrated slightly, and a second thud was heard by his ears. His heart started to beat slightly faster, a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time as he held the knife up, ready to attack the moment he felt truly threatened. He was far enough away, and a part of him nagged at him to run, but he didn't, he was excited.

The thuds became less and less common, until finally there was none, by then Adrian had come to stand just to the side of the door, prepared to attack. He waited for a few seconds, then reached to the door handle, and tried to open the door. It was locked. Part of him felt terribly disappointed, his want for the excitement seemed to grow even more.

He started to turn away when there was yet another thud, and a cry from the freezer. "Help! Please somebody help me!" The voice was distinctly male, young, and he needed help before he froze in there!

Adrian went to work looking again, all the while thinking of what to say. "Ah, ah, I'm out here! I'll see if I can find the key, hold on okay?" His shouts were weak, but he hoped that the young man had heard him.

"Help! Please god let me out! Oh god it burns!"

Adrian took in what was said without really thinking, looking carefully for a key, any key for the freezer. Come to think of it, what the hell would a freezer be doing locked? He growled, frustrated as he threw open cupboards, and knocked pans down as he was looking. His anger welled up more and more as he failed to find the Key. "Hold on! I'll get the key I swear!"

"It's so hot! I can feel my skin turning! Ah!" The screams of pain were beginning to become distorted, like the man was growing tired, and again, Adrian hardly heard what was being said.

Finally, Adrian found a key that he hoped would be to the freezer, bolted across the room, and unlocked the freezer. "I've got you!" He shouted, opening the freezer, and immediately fall away from the opening.

An intense wave of heat lashed out at him as if from a raging inferno, then he was greeted by absolutely nothing. No cries, no screams, not even a writhing body on fire. The heat he had felt even vanished after only a short burst. He opened his eyes, lowering his arms that had instinctively raised to protect his face from the flames he expected, and saw a freezer that had done the exact opposite of what it was supposed to do.

The inside of the freezer was charred and burnt, what was once beef, and ham were now nothing but charred bone and melted flesh. How ever, the back corner lay a figure, clearly burnt to a cinder. Adrian blinked, unsure of what to do or say. The figure seemed to have his fingers wrapped around something small and round.

Adrian's interest was piqued, and he found himself walking gingerly towards the body, unperturbed by the fact that he had just heard someone screaming for help, and yet there was a long dead, person in the freezer, and that was it. He bent over, reaching down to gently pry the fingers apart, and with a snap, the fingers separated from the body.

Adrian wretched, finally letting the fear and the sick feeling that had been growing since he opened the freezer take effect for a moment, then recovered. Then the smell of burnt, old, dead flesh finally hit him, like his nose had been clogged for the last few minutes and had just now recovered. He retched again, turning away from the body in time to release what was in his stomach onto the floor next to him. There wasn't much there, but it was enough, and he wasn't feeling any better after the purging of his stomach.

He gripped his knife, then dry heaved over his small pile of vomit, then again. Finally, his stomach settled down a little, his nose grew a little more used to the smell, and his attention went directly back to the body.

Now Adrian could see the sphere of glass in the hand of the body. A perfect sphere on deep reds and oranges that seemed to emit a flame of it's own. He reached down, unsure of if it was safe, but feeling his heart beat faster and faster. The moment his hand wrapped around the sphere, he felt the inner heat of the object and smiled. Something about it was amazing, and scary.

Without a second thought, he pocketed the orb and leaned against the wall, laughing. His laughter grew and grew, becoming louder, more intense, and then taking on an edge of insanity. But the laughter changed quickly to sobs, fear and excitement battling within the body of a man torn between life and death.


	3. Chapter 2: Fear

**Chapter 2: Fear**

Adrian's fingers stroked gently at his temple, letting the fear and insanity that had seemed to engulf him only moments ago abate with the flow of time. Of course, how time flowed had come to be questioned by him as well. He felt like everything was happening far to fast for him to take it. He had crashed, then awoken, and within ten minutes of waking up, he finds a dead, burnt body, and a weird stone that generates it's own heat. Of course, he knew he had already been insane, but now, now he had proof that he was indeed going entirely nuts.

His eyes were stinging, the tears having come sharp and sudden, and he hated this weak feeling that was coming to him. It made him ponder a couple small details as to his life. Why did he think he needed to kill himself? Hah, because he didn't deserve to live. What made it so important to visit his sister before he did end his rather pathetic life? She would want him to say goodbye. She surely wasn't going to see his atheistic ass in heaven. Surely god would never give him a second chance at the gates. The thought made him laugh.

Something about this whole situation was out of place, but then again, when one crashes, and wakes in an abandoned restaurant, one would truly be stupid to think this was normal. His head began to spin, the thoughts he concocted making him sick to his stomach. His head was aching again, perhaps the crash was still affecting him after all?

To many questions! Adrian forced the thoughts away with a little difficulty, then looked back at the poor, burnt corpse of whoever this was. A sad smile came to his face as he pushed himself up against the wall. He could feel his stomach do a flip, this was all wrong, how did a corpse scream? He shook his head, dislodging the thought before it could grow again. He was certain that there would be no answer to be found. Not one that people would believe anyways.

His fingers wrapped tightly around the handle of his kitchen knife, a small lump in his pocket and a warm sensation told him he was indeed still in possession of the interesting stone. With a final look around the charred freezer, he made his way to the door, and back into the kitchen.

The kitchen seemed odd, like something changed, but he couldn't quite pace what it was. Of course, he simply shrugged his shoulders and glanced about, taking in the scene once more. He looked to the door leading to the main room, where the customers would go, then turned and found a pair of doors. One had a small window showing a foggy surrounding, the other was just a solid door with a knob. He decided that he would surely find something of interest. After all, he had just found his new favorite marble.

It was a quick pair of steps to this door, and he turned the knob and pulled. The door swung open outward, impeding any that might try to pass him, not that anyone would be trying to pass him. Behind the door was a small storage room with what looked to be very old cooking supplies. Must have been where all the extras went. It was odd really, he had never quite seen these rooms in other restaurants. Then again, how often was he in the kitchen of a restaurant? He chuckled, searching the shelves and finding absolutely nothing of use.

His next goal was the back door, or what he assumed was the back door. A small knob sat there, waiting to be turned as he closed the storage closet door. A small thud sounded shortly after said door closed, but he assumed he knocked something off the shelves when the door closed. It had been devoid of life and he was certain of that indeed.

The door in the back leading outside opened with ease, and Adrian found himself out in the foggy open. He squinted against the thick fog, a gentle mist that simply stood before him, flowing only with what little air current there was. As he moved out a little further, he noted that he could only see ten feet or so ahead of himself, and that a mesh pattern was beginning to appear in front of him.

He came to the fence only a moment later, touching the cold steel, he looked through, and then down. The sight made him stagger back away from the fence. Where there should have been cement and road, there was a giant chasm. The fog made it impossible to see what lay at the bottom, or across, but it was definitely deep, and it was no doubt very long. At least ten feet, something nobody could jump without being Olympic level.

After the wave of shock, Adrian recovered, finding his way back to the fence and feeling his way around. It turned out that the fence had him trapped in a small cement lot. It seemed to be a break area for those working in the restaurant, having a couple of chairs and a table. A small pocket radio sat there, surely it wasn't going to work, but Adrian took a shot, picking up the small object and tinkering with the power switch. Of course, the moment the power turned on, there was a gentle static.

As Adrian toyed with the radio's tuner, the static when from gentle to sharp and back, but other then that, the noise simply didn't change from that which was far to damn annoying to be good. He flipped the power off and sighed, placing the radio in his other pocket. Perhaps he would find a need for it, or the batteries, or something. He wasn't certain what good it might be in the future, but he thought there was a slight chance.

As a second thought, Adrian flipped the power switch back on, lowering the volume so that the static was little more then light background noise. Perhaps he would get a signal later, and he didn't want to miss it. After all, the news would be nice, or perhaps so music if nothing else. The thought of getting to listen to rock while he wandered the streets, seeking a woman who might be a psycho and a way out of this town was enough to make him want to laugh loud and hard.

He checked around for anything else of use, but the area was devoid of anything other then his new AM/FM radio. So now he went back to the kitchen, his eyes adjusting back to the dim light of the restaurant.

Again, it felt like something had changed in the kitchen, but he couldn't place a finger on the difference. He carried himself into the kitchen, passed the open storage room... He stopped, turning back to look at the storage room door, wide open. He was more then a little certain he had closed that damn thing. He growled under his breath, his mind was playing games with him again.

He went to the storage room, and found something new within the small room. On the floor was a small teddy bear, it's fur stained and tattered. The teddy bear's original color was no doubt a light brown, but now it was dark brown, stuffing popping out from small slashes and cuts. One of it's button eyes was missing, and a dark red bow was tied too tight around it's neck. And in it's destroyed embrace was yet another piece of paper.

Adrian stooped down, picking up the paper that was within the bear's grasp, and unfolded the slip. It's gentle white was assaulted by color on the inside, depicting in a rather simple design, a man of short brown hair, wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, holding a knife in one hand, and a radio in the other. He was standing in a rather large room full of tables and chairs, a counter, and a pair of double doors. How ever, the detail that stood out to him most was the fact that everything was on fire, and that included the man. And he wasn't stupid to the fact that that man on fire was most assuredly himself. Under the picture was a small set of words.

_To leave, one must set fire_

Adrian folded the paper, then pocketed it. Perhaps it would be important as well, seeing that SOMETHING was trying so hard to give him little gifts. His body was becoming chilled, the fact that this was happening not twenty feet from him and he couldn't even notice until it was too late was filling him with fear. "Dammit, who's playing games with me?"

He closed the storage room door once more, leaving the room, and the bear, to their own devices. He was sure the paper was the goal, not the bear. His next goal was to get out of this building and find a map and a way out. Out in the main room, he found his way around the counter, and towards the doors. As he came to the double doors leading out again, he recalled the picture. What would happen if he set off a trap at the door or something? Was the picture a warning, trying to leave would set fire? He shifted a little, uncomfortable all of a sudden.

He glanced to his right, and spied a pair of doors. One of them labeled Men's, the other labeled Women's. In between these two doors sat a plaque that stated in large letters "Restrooms". He was interested in being a rather thorough person today. After all, it could be the difference between life and death. Who knew who was waiting to attack him?

He came up to the women's room first, not worried about the gender difference. Surely someone would find this offensive if they were here, but alas, they were not. His pushed the door open, and then gagged as a wave of stench like that of rotting flesh took him. He bent over, clutching his stomach as he heaved at what wasn't in his stomach anymore. He had purged completely already.

The smell kept him still for several seconds as he dry heaved repeatedly before his body finally stopped to torment. By then, tears had blurred his vision, and his throat had become horribly sore, and as much as he wasn't dry heaving, the smell still made him gag as he made an effort to step into the bathroom.

There was a single wall directly in front of him, forcing him to turn to the left, and then at the end of this short path, he was forced to turn right. Inside the room, blood smeared the walls all over, and the second body was found. The blood on the floor was diluted and thinned by the water that had simply flowed to the floor around the dead body.

The body, for all the blood, seemed not to be the source, and instead looked like it had died from drowning. The body bloated and expanded quite a lot, leaving fear that the body might simply burst. It was a disgusting sight, but Adrian kept himself from heaving again. That was not all that helpful after all.

Adrian approached the body, keeping sure to not slip on the water. There was the constant feel of being watched as he approached the body, fear began to swell up in his chest as he grew nearer to the hideous body. Finally, he found himself beside it, and his eyes were immediately attracted to a small, spherical object.

In the hand of the bloated body was a small sphere of a blue and green hue, a small drop of water fell from it's slick surface, adding to the puddle in the dead hand, which had clearly overflowed already. Adrian found his fingers wrapping around the sphere, it's surface wet and shiny as he did so. It was a slight surprise when he felt water start to drip into his hand as if he held an ice cube, and the sphere seemed to move gently back and forth, like it had it's own gentle slow, or tide.

He stood straight up, released a breath, took another in, and prepared to leave. His eyes however went to the stalls in the room. He did want to see if he could find anything that might make sure he didn't die...

He went to the nearest stall to the body, having to circumnavigate the body before he could reach it. The stall door swung open as he pushed it, but the toilet was clean of anything, including useful items. He continued his search, finding nothing of use in any of the stalls. A little discouraged by this, he found his way out of the women's room after a couple glances around.

When the door closed to the women's room, the smell was slowly taken away from him, allowing himself a breath of fresh air. There was still another restroom to check, and he was certain to expect something else, so when he pushed the door open, and found that it turned off to his right, but smelled nothing disgusting, he was a little stunned.

Rounding on the right turn to find himself in the bathroom, there was nothing of unusual quality, and there was definitely no dead bodies of normal quality. He was in a very empty bathroom. Again, he decided to search the stalls.

As he came to the first stall, his eyes were diverted by a sight in the mirror. He hadn't seen a mirror in the other bathroom because it was smeared with blood, but this one was perfect, except a major flaw. On his side of the mirror, the walls were a gentle tan color, with the paint seeming almost new even. The mirror, however, reflected the walls as a deep, rust color. The stalls were made of mesh wire and steel fences, and there was something else. The room seemed evil, like it was alive, on the other side of the mirror.

Adrian felt yet another shiver of fear run down his spine. He would never admit it, but the image on the other side of the mirror was far scarier then the dead bodies he had found so far. He had something to do though, so he started going through the stalls. Sadly, the stalls were empty, devoid of anything but what every stall had.

Adrian found his way to the urinals, wondering if there might be something there for some god awful reason, but was disappointed by the sight of nothing yet again. As he was about to give in to the urge to try to leave, he caught something in the corner of his eyes. The paper towel dispenser seemed to have something interesting in it. Instead of simply trying to pry it open, Adrian dropped a hard elbow down on the top, breaking the entire thing.

Another drawing was found, this one depicted the same scene as before, but water was pouring down on everything, dousing the fire. At the bottom were a couple lines, words that surely meant something.

_Water puts out fire._

_(Remember, fire doesn't burn wet things.)_

Adrian pondered the words and the picture for a moment, before folding it and pocketing it. A pair of children's drawings about him on fire, and the fire being put out. Perhaps these were just made to intimidate him? He would find out soon enough, he was sure. What would he need fire and water to get out for? He could simply break a window and leave that way!

He felt a small sweep of something, then shuddered. Suddenly, the idea of changing or breaking rules was a frightening idea. Perhaps it would simply be safer to go out the front doors once he figured out the secret. With this thought came a final thought of how this building alone had a number of unexplained events. What a crazy place to be, where pictures appeared, and notes fell through the roof to the ground. Perhaps he had himself in a very dangerous situation after all? Or perhaps he was simply absolutely insane.

He put a mental note to believe the latter before he even considered the less logical answer, and found his way towards the exit of the bathroom yet again. Of course, the bathroom was still a little more then interesting. The image in the mirror was absolutely confusing, and his fear welled up yet again as he continued to note the amazing, and monstrous, vision. He shook his head, leaving the image behind to leave the bathroom without letting the fears besiege him.

Once he exited the bathroom, his mind seemed to relieve it's self of all his fears. The atmosphere was definitely lighter in this gentle environment. Now that he had pretty well checked everything else in the restaurant, his goal was to leave. Seeing that the back door was blocked off completely, he had to leave through the front door, dam it all.

And so he was there at the front door. His hand touched the handle, and he pushed, but found that the resistance was far to great. Without trying to push hard, he gave up on simply opening the door. Clearly he needed to unlock the doors.

As he examined the doors, he found that a small plate with two indents was located between the two, right below the bar to open the door. On the plate were two small indents that looked the size of a pair of medium sized marbles. Crudely drawn to the right of either indent were symbols. Beside the top indent was a set of waves, three in all, stacked on top of each other. The bottom indent had a flame drawn next to it.

The words and the drawings made sense as he examined the small plaque. Perhaps this was the way out? "To leave, you must _set fire_." The simplicity was funny, and he grasped the pair of spheres in his pocket, holding them both in his hand as he thought about the other paper. Clearly there was a need for both spheres, or that was an elaborate ruse to confuse him. He wasn't one to take chances though. He would prefer to live then screw up. And he was certain that making a mistake was deadly. Perhaps that was what happened to the two people who held these spheres?

He paused as he held the fire marble close to the slot that was marked fire. "Water puts out fire. Perhaps I will need to place the water sphere after the fire to make sure that, it works out?" The question seemed right at first, but then his mind went to the last line. It was surely a hint he should most likely pay attention to. And the logical conclusion was that he needed to wet the surface before he could set the fire in it's slot. The simplicity to this little puzzle was so obvious, it might have blinded a fool. He quickly switched the spheres around, then placed them, water, then fire.

Without anything else happening in the nearby area, he heard a distinct click. He pressed gently against the door, and watched as the entrance to the restaurant swung open gently. It had been so simple, he had armed himself, and he had seen a pair of dead bodies. Whatever was next, he was sure it couldn't be much worse. The moment that thought crossed his mind, he was mentally beating himself up. He had just made sure something far worse would be seen.

Adrian's long strides took him out into the foggy streets, his eyes barely pressing through the cloud of moisture. His heart was pounding, suddenly becoming excited by the idea of possible mysteries. Something inside him screamed that he should have been scared, but he wasn't that scared. He simply feared that he might just die, but even that seemed to get him more excited then scared.

He stuck to the building, making sure he had a solid surface on his left, having turned left to find a place that might give him an idea of exactly where he was. The chances of him finding anything that would really help him seemed more then a little slim.

He stopped at a small alley, his eyes peering down into the dark side street before deciding to check it out. It was easier to see in the confined area, like the fog didn't pour in as thick as it would in the street, and it made it far easier to keep an eye out for anything of use, or an oddity that he might have to work against. His fingers gripped tightly around the handle of his knife, his pulse rising slowly with every step.

At the end of the alley was a dead end, and a small object on the ground that was shaped in a cylinder. As he stooped to pick it up, it became clear that this item was a flashlight. One of the small ones that was only strong enough to illuminate fifteen or so feet. But perhaps it would be useful? He picked it up in his hand, flicked it on and found light was cast, then turned it off and placed it next to his radio.

He turned to leave the alley, and a burst of loud static came from the radio he had picked up not long ago. Confusion reigned as he looked at it, pulling it out, nearly dropping his knife as he did so. The radio in his hand was screaming at with sharp, high pitched squeals and static. And it grew louder as he examined the radio. Then he heard the shuffling from the entrance of the alley.

His hand tightened around the handle of his knife, holding it out in a defensive position. His heart started to thump harder and faster, adrenaline was pumping faster then ever before. "Hello? Who's there?"

There was no response, but the air seemed to be growing thicker, and darker. Adrian took a breath, noting the difference in the air. What was coming started to come into view, as well as hear it's harsh, wheezing breaths.

It staggered oddly, like it's balance was terrible, and it's lack of arms was a little disturbing, but that was not even a little weird compared to the rest of the details. It's body looked like a charred, body, blackened and oozing with fluids that could only come from a burnt body. It's body was emaciated, it's stomach caved in, skin stretched across the rib cage, which was wide open. Under the rib cage was a smoldering pair of what was shaped like lungs, both expanding and contracting sporadically as the creature jerked and walked towards him. Each step was like a twitch, like watching someone hyped on coffee. And if that wasn't enough, every time the creature let out a breath, the air around it filled with a dark smog like substance.

Adrian's body and mind were shocked, his heart began to beat faster then ever before, and he involuntarily took in a quick breath. The creature's smog caught in his throat and lungs, and before he could react to save himself, he was coughing, his body forcing him to keel over as he tried to clear his throat of the disgusting ash that now clogged his throat. And it was simply coming closer, not stopping for even a second.

By the time he staggered back towards the dead end, to gain some distance, the creature was already mere feet away from him. He was at the wall, and couldn't account for more then fifteen feet in distance. The creature blocked the alley way, and there was no other way out. He had no other choice but to fight the creature.

Adrian contemplated the creature for a split second, and it stopped for a second. He thought about the way it moved, and the clearly glowing point that was it's lungs. The biggest problem was the smog, which he could get around by simply holding his breath. He gripped the knife tightly, for the first time realizing that he still had a hold of it after his coughing fit, and prepared to lunge at the creature.

Just before he started his charge, he watched the creature suddenly lean back, a loud sucking noise came from the creature, like a large, strong breath was being taken in. The lung cage expanded and opened quickly, exposing it's lungs completely, and then it threw it's upper body forward...


End file.
